Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closes April 25, 2024

CJA01-0305. Board of senior judges. Amend. The proposed amendments (1) expand membership on the Board to include senior justice court judges, and (2) revise the term lengths and number of meetings of the Board.

CJA03-0104. Presiding judges. Amend. The proposed amendments remove the requirement to send notice of a senior judge assignment to the State Court Administrator.

CJA03-0108. Judicial assistance. Amend. The proposed amendments (1) add water law cases to the criteria for transferring or assigning senior judges, and (2) clarify and simplify considerations for assigning senior judges.

CJA03-0111. Performance evaluations. Amend. The proposed amendments remove references to senior judges, as the processes for evaluating senior judge performance have been incorporated into Rule 11-201.

CJA03-0113. Senior judges. Amend. The proposed amendments (1) require the AOC to provide a new senior judge orientation, and (2) expand the responsibilities of court executives in providing support for senior judges.

CJA03-0403. Judicial branch education. Amend. The proposed amendments (1) clarify that “annually” refers to the fiscal year, and (2) revise and simplify education requirements for active and inactive senior judges.

CJA03-0501. Insurance benefits upon retirement. Amend. The proposed amendments revise qualifications for incentive benefits.

CJA011-0201. Senior Judges. Amend. 

CJA11-0203. Senior Justice Court Judges. Amend. 

The proposed amendments to Rules 11-201 and 11-203: (1) clarify and revise qualifications for appointment of senior judges, (2) establish qualifications and process for reappointment of senior judges, (3) establish and revise standards and processes for performance evaluation of senior judges, (4) clarify the role of the Judicial Council in the appointment and reappointment of senior judges, (5) revise the terms of office and authority of senior judges, and (6) include general cleanup for clarity and consistency.

 

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Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closes April 12, 2024

CJA03-0306.02.  Language Access Committee (AMEND). Removes the reference to rule Rule 3-306.05.

CJA03-0306.03. Interpreter credentialing (AMEND). Clarifies that the rule does not apply to staff interpreters employed by the court and gives the Language Access Program Manager the discretion to grant a rare language exemption without approval from the Language Access Committee.

CJA03-0306.04. Interpreter appointment, payment, and fees (AMEND). 1) Allows judicial officers to appoint “approved” interpreters in legal proceedings without exhausting the list of “certified” interpreters; 2) prevents court employees not hired as staff interpreters from interpreting legal proceedings; and 3) removes language regarding staff interpreter employee benefits.

CJA03-0306.05. Interpreter removal, discipline, and formal complaints (REPEALED)

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Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment Period Closes March 31, 2024

URCP018. Joinder of claims and remedies. AMEND. The proposed amendments reflect the change in the statue using the language “voidable transaction” instead of “fraudulent conveyance.”  Other changes were made to the gendered pronouns used in the rule, as well as to simplify the language of the rule.

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Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closes March 30, 2024

URAP010. Procedures for summary disposition or simplified appeal process. The Committee proposes amending Rule 10 to: (1) add a provision to allow the appellate courts to dismiss an appeal for failure to prosecute if, after 150 days, the reasons the appeal was tolled under Rule 4(b) or Rule 4(c) are not resolved; and (2) clean-up for clarity and consistency.

URAP057. Record on appeal; transmission of record; supplementation of the record. The Committee proposes amending Rule 57 to modify the definition of the record on appeal for child welfare cases, and to make the rule consistent with Rule 11.

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Rules of Evidence – Comment Period Closed March 10, 2024

URE0106. Remainder of or Related Writings or Recorded Statements. Amend. The proposed amendments track recent changes to Federal Rule of Evidence 106, omitting language indicating that the statements covered by the rule are only those in “writing or recorded,” and adding a sentence affirming, “The adverse party may do so over a hearsay objection.”

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Rules of Criminal Procedure – Comment Period Closed March 9, 2024

URCrP008. Appointment of Counsel. Amend. The Supreme Court’s Advisory Committee on the Rules of Criminal Procedure recently amended Rule 8 to clarify the responsibility of judges during a self-representation colloquy to waive the right to counsel. The Committee’s efforts aimed to emphasize the right to self-representation as a constitutional right directly related to the right to counsel and the right to appointed counsel for indigent defendants. Additional provisions to the Rule include amendments to the qualifications for appointment on capital cases to require that attorneys representing those defendants have sufficient criminal practice, experience, and training. The Rule is approved for a 45-day public comment period.

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Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed February 17, 2024

URAP003. Appeal as of right – how taken.

URAP005. Discretionary appeals from interlocutory orders.

URAP014. Review of administrative orders: how obtained; intervention.

URAP019. Extraordinary relief.

URAP048. Time for petitioning.

The Committee proposes amending these rules to modify the fee provision language to direct parties to the requirements of Rule 21. Filing and service, regarding payment of filing fees. The intent is to ensure uniform requirements for payment of any filing fee under the rules. Additionally, in Rule 14, the committee proposes adding a provision for agencies to e-file the record within 21 days upon receiving a request from the appellate courts.

URAP021. Filing and service. The Committee proposes amending Rule 21 to: (1) notify parties that the appellate courts will be transitioning to an e-filing system; (2) specify the date when all licensed attorneys will be required to file using the e-filing system; (3) explain that filing fees will be required to be paid through the e-filing system when documents are e-filed; and (4) update the provisions regarding service for documents that are e-filed.

URAP026. Filing and serving briefs. The Committee proposes amending Rule 26 to: (1) update paragraph (b) Number of copies. to include a requirement for copies of briefs that are e-filed; and (2) clarify paragraph (d) Return of record to the clerk.

URAP027. Form of briefs, motions, and other documents. Rule 27 was previously published for public comment with the following proposed amendments: (1) provide more detailed guidance for preparing the caption for briefs and conform the rule to current practice; (2) remove the requirement that opposing counsel be listed on the cover, as this information will be included on a following page; and (3) clarify the requirements for captions on petitions and motions or other documents that are not a brief or petition. The Committee proposes an additional proposed amendment requiring hard copies of briefs to be submitted to the Appellate Courts using only a binder clip, rather than a velo or similar binding along the left edge.

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